Happy birthday to Lindy

Once upon a time (27 years ago on this very day), at about 8:00 in the morning, a little girl was born at Holy Cross Hospital. At first her parents weren't sure what to call her, but after spending some time with their new baby, it became obvious her name would be Linden.

Birthday trivia: When it came time to bring Lindy into the world, my doctor told me to push--after which he promptly left to take a phone call outside. I pushed through one contraction, and on the second contraction, Lindy was born! My doctor was still outside on the phone. The resident who was working at the time (who coincidentally used to play racquetball with Bobbyanne and me) "caught" Lindy; the resident didn't even have time to put her gloves on. Amazingly, my doctor was perturbed (at me!) when he came back into the room. Oh, brother.

What I remember best about that day, though, is how happy I was that Lindy turned out to be a girl, and that even though I'd been up all night in labor, I couldn't go to sleep because I was so excited about having a little girl to raise, in addition to my little boy, Logies.

Woo hoo! Lucky me! Really, no mother is as fortunate as I am. Happy birthday Lin! I love you!

Happy aniversary to us

This is a very busy time of the year, celebration-wise, what with father's day last Sunday, Logies' and Andy's birthdays yesterday, and Lindy's and Bobbyanne's birthdays on Saturday. Squished in between all this happiness is our aniversary.

Bob and I have been married for 14 years today! Woo hoo! To celebrate this very special occasion, I've invited the Flinstones to serenade us with their unique rendition of "Happy Anniversary." (You have to admit, the animation quality is pretty spectacular.)

To celebrate, we're going to head up to the Sun and Moon Cafe (where Crompton's used to be in Emigration Canyon) for dinner. Do we know how to have a good time, or what? I love you, Bob!

Happy birthday to Logies

It's hard to believe that Logan was born 29 years ago today. It seems like just yesterday he was trying to get Chuck to smile for the camera.

In honor of Logan's birthday, the daylillies have started to bloom, as they do every year at exactly this time. I remember being hugely pregnant, sitting on the deck at our Logan Avenue house, thinking how cool it was that the daylillies would all be in bloom right after Logan was born, and that I would be able to enjoy my new baby and my favorite flower at the same time. Bonus!

I might just be the luckiest mom in the whole wide world. Hooray for Logan! Happy birthday! I love you!

World's best father

Dads don't get any better than OUR dad. Everything worthwhile I know, I learned from him: how to love your kids, work hard, be reasonable, use humor, and live a happy life. You are the best father ever, and I love you. Happy father's day to you!

More trouble for Oscar

A couple of nights ago I noticed Oscar seemed a little more wobbly than usual. The next morning I drove Bob to the airport early, and when I returned I checked on Oscar. He could barely walk! He was dragging himself around using just his front legs and neither of his glorious, back hammertime legs seemed to be working at all. He fell over when he was taking a drink at his bowl, and his whole head got all wet. It made me want to cry.

I loaded Oscar up and took him to see Dr. Dave, who watched him try to walk around. Dr. Dave thought he might have a spine injury. (No, no, no, no! Not a spine injury!) So, I left the poor little guy there to have x-rays taken, and went home to worry about how Bob and I could possibly stand to lose another cat.

When I returned, we looked at Oscar's x-rays. The good news is that his spine is in pretty good shape. No problems with the vertebra. However, his right hip is really screwed up. The left hip socket goes out, and the right one faces in--Dr. Dave thinks its the result of a broken hip that didn't heal properly. Oscar probably irritated the injury by jumping on or off something. Who knows what other trauma might lurk in Oscar's past?

Oscar got a shot of cortisone, and he was sent home for bed rest.

The vet suggested I go Deseret Industries and buy a baby's play pen to put him in so he stays put and doesn't try to jump on things. A play pen! Well, there's no way Oscar is going to agree to sit in a play pen all day, so instead I rigged up a very nice sleeping area for him on the floor of Lindy's room (his room), and fortified the human bed with cushions from the couch and pillows. I lined them up around the outside so it'd be too high for Oscar to jump up on. He's been sleeping, curled up in a little ball, in his bed most of the day--strange behavior for the hyper little dude.

I'll let you know how the recovery goes. Poor little Oscar.

Queue the Lassie song

Tonight our friends Michael and Louise came over for dinner, and they brought their sweet little dog Topaz with them, who (as you can see below) is a sheltie. I realize "sheltie" is different than "collie," but whenever I see her I am compelled to hum the Lassie song.

The TV show Lassie was an important part of my childhood. I watched it after school almost every day, and I pretty much cried through every episode, beginning with the opening music. Lindy, I believe your inclination to cry during sad animal movies began, genetically speaking, when I became hooked on Lassie. I think it's a good thing. I'm pretty sure that our entire family's special connection to animals started with Lassie. Lassie, we totally revere you.

Photo tip: Always take photos of shelties when they're standing next to mountain geraniums.

Michael is a professor at Westminster, and Louise, in addition to being a dog trainer extraordinare, is an amazing artist. Topaz competes in dog agility competitions. She's really, really smart. And obedient.

Bob cooked seafood paella for dinner, and (don't faint, anyone) I made an orange and avacado salad, from a recipe. Lindy, the recipes came from a spanish cookbook you gave us a couple of years ago, so thank you! Both of the dishes were fabulous. The salad was prettier, but the paella was definitely tastier. I wish I'd learned to cook earlier in life, but it's never too late, right?

Here's an action photo of Louise spooning paella onto her plate. (Who says food photos can't be exciting?)

Out here, we live like animals (1)

Do you remember me telling you about last summer, when Bob and I were reading in the bedroom, and we heard this really loud boom in our back yard, and later found out that one member of the cute squirrel family that lives in our back yard was electrocuted, and flew off the telephone pole, and landed in our neighbor's yard, and the neighborhood kids had a funeral for it? That was sad.

Well guess what? Whichever parent didn't die must have remarried right away, because this year we have TWO brand new little squirrels living in our yard! Here is one of the chunky parents, saying, "Thank you, O generous one, for this most delectable feast." (I love it when squirrels use "the steeple." It's a sign of confidence.) When I took this photo, the two little ones were inside the squirrel food box making a really loud racket.

Here is one of the little tykes. He/she and his/her brother/sister have been running run all over our back yard like crazy, most likely because we have neither cats nor dogs back there--unlike our neighbors. It's the Koerner/Henson Safe Zone.

Here's the chunky mom/dad again, still chowing down on peanuts and sunflower seeds. I just looked out the window and that squirrel is still out there eating. I swear, he/she is going to be the size of a moose by the end of the summer.

Flower news: I think foxglove might be my all time favorite perennial. This plant is right outside my office window, and I admire it every single day.

Isn't it beautiful?

(1) If any of you had been alive in 1973, you would know right away that this phrase came from a scene in Woody Allen's Sleeper. I don't mind telling you how frightening it is to think that one little phrase from one little movie I saw once 36 years ago is still stuck in my brain.

Fuzziness check

I'm pretty sure y'all have been waking up just about every day wondering how Oscar's fuzziness level is coming along. You may recall that just before he came to live with us he'd been shaved right down to his skin, and he looked embarrassingly naked. And little. Not at all ferocious. To refresh your memories, here is Oscar right after he arrived in February.

And here he is now, in all of his fuzzy glory! Maybe he's not exactly FUZZY quite yet, but he's definitely furrier. Seriously, click on the photo and you will get a close up of all of Oscar's downy new hair. I'm so proud of him. Grow, hair, grow!

Oscar has been practicing his fierce look. See how scary he can be when he really tries? Shudder. He wants to be prepared when his hair grows in and he is large again.

And here he is modeling his Oscar Hammertime legs. Man, he is the cutest thing ever.

It has been crazy wet here for over a week....very weird! Today at about 3:00 it started pouring, almost (but not quite) like it does in New Jersey. I took pictures of the back and front yard and got drenched. See for yourself:

We think summer will start again soon.

Summertime

'nuff said.